WINE-MAKING IN CALIFORNIA. 



321 



left on the finings after it has cleared, as even the best and 

 purest are apt to impart a disagreeable 

 flavor, if the wine is left on them too long. 

 I trust that the filter described may do 

 away with finings altogether, and thus save 

 expense, unnecessary labor, and risk of 

 any taste from the finings. We want to 

 furnish pure wine, the most perfect and 

 pure we can have, to the world; and any- 

 thing which will enable us to do so within 1 

 the shortest possible time, should be wel- 

 FIG. 38. corned and adopted by our wine makers 



as well as by the trade. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



AGING WINE. 



We hear a great deal on the subject of aging wine, on Cali- 

 fornia wines being too young when they are sold, etc. There 

 is no doubt a great deal of truth in this, for it is a well recog- 

 nized fact that strong, full bodied wines require a longer 

 period for their full development than lighter wines; and as 

 our wines are of the former class, it is but natural that they 

 should require time to bring out their best qualities. But to 

 understand this fully, we must understand first the true mean- 

 ing of the term "old wine." 



I call a wine "old" when it is fully developed, when it is 

 perfectly clear and bright, having deposited all the impurities 

 it contains when young, and has obtained the highest degree 



